Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is stepping down from Congress to focus full-time on her recovery, her office announced Sunday.

“I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week,” Giffords announced in a video message posted on her website. “I am getting better,” she added.

Giffords’s announcement comes almost exactly a year after the Jan. 8 shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona where six people died and thirteen, including Giffords, were injured.
A gunman opened fire at an event with constituents and Giffords, the target of the attack, was shot at close range.

Since the shooting, the three-term Arizona congresswoman has recovered her ability to speak and walk in what some of her doctors have hailed as a miracle.

According to the Arizona Daily Star, Giffords plans to finish the Congress On Your Corner event she was hosting for constituents when she was shot. Giffords also plans to attend President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Giffords was considered a rising star in the Democratic party and, before the shooting, was reportedly laying the groundwork to run for Senate.

In response to the announcement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Giffords’s recovery inspiring.

“Since the tragic events one year ago, Gabby has been an inspiring symbol of determination and courage to millions of Americans,” Pelosi said in a statement. “I join all my colleagues in Congress in thanking Gabby for the honor of calling her colleague and wishing Gabby and Mark great success and happiness. She will be missed in the House of Representatives, but her legacy in the Congress and her leadership for our nation will certainly continue.”

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio.) also said Giffords would be missed.

“We salute Rep. Giffords for her service, & for the courage & perseverance she has shown in the face of tragedy,” Boehner tweeted. “She will be missed.”

(Source: The Hill)